surprize!!

oh yeah, i forgot.

i'm 10 weeks and 4 days pregnant today. cool eh?

:)

su

getwaway! :)

had to sneak in the kissy face.

niagara!!

What happens when you send the parents away without the children?????

they act like kids , due to the separation anxiety. just kidding. we just act like kids because it comes naturally to us. :) there was no anxiety in separating. we knew the kids were in good experienced hands! Well ... i highly recommend travelzoo.com and their tips for vacation deals. check them out. we stayed at a VERY NICE hotel, complete with jacuzzi and fireplace in the room!! aaaaawhhhhhh, we were SOOOOOO SPOILED. it was lovely . i can't believe how relaxing it was. Dave took me to the Aviary, which was awesome! we meandered through the rooms of birds and reptiles and took in the peaceful sights and sounds........... i can't tell you how perfect it was to be in a green, warm, colorful, chirpy place in the middle of bla-gray-winter. aaaaaaw. you should try it if you are tired of grayness.
The falls were magnificent. ice everywhere. the mist from the Canadian falls blew onto lampposts and railings and froze, creating this odd Narnia effect of whisping, lovely winteriness. (the pretty side of winter) i didn't take pictures of it, oops. but you can imagine it.
The two 'pools' of water in the above picture, were all that we could see (besides the falls) of flowing water. the rest is covered in a layer of ice. wow. amazing.
the elusive Toucan . we looked specifically for this bird through the large aviary and had to climb back a couple 'stories' to get this shot. the main room was about three stories high, with a winding pathway and various levels of waterways, stones and trees and brush for the birds to wander through. fabulous.

so now. we are back. and in summary. it was a delightful trip. we hope to land another great deal again soon......

did i mention we visited IKEA on the way home? man. you just can't beat a trip like that in winter! :) haha. What a good husband i have. awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Sisterly Love

Julia did such a sweet and caring job of feeding sam his bottle last night, it was super sweet i just had to capture it on camera. :) i love these moments. They totally make up for the minutes of frustration, whining and arguing. The sweet little times of peace and love and joy. they are everywhere and if i catalog them i'm less likely to forget the sweet nothings that permeate the day.

Today after grocery shopping i was unexpectedly exhausted , and while i trudged up our stairs with a very heavy little boy to put him to bed, Julia began rushing about putting my groceries away. now.... this doesn't sound so strange i guess. but really, i would expect my mother to do something like this, not my three year old. ha!! i was so touched by her kindness. it was a nice Valentines gift for me. :)

my favorite thing about sam right now... well, maybe my favorite, he has so many likeable characteristics... anyway.... i truly enjoy the going to nap/bed time. He points toward his bed and gurgles. i say, "Is that Ba?(his bear) and Gruntles?(his horse)" and he gurgles more and more. then he lays down and gets zipped into his sleeping bag, and grabs his stuffies. then he proceeds to stuff them into my mouth and laugh hilariously. i love it. it is our little game. our little fun.

Dave has been working a lot lately, but taking so much time to make sure we have family fun. he took us swimming a couple days ago and it was sooooooooooo fantastic!! this man is incredible, really, i don't know how he has it, but he possesses a sixth sense that allows him to know what needs to happen to make everyone happy. And he is good at executing the necessary steps to get there. last night while i was away, he hung my curtains for me! did my dishes!! and prepared a snack for when i walked in the door!!!! :) man. really i don't know how i deserve such service but this man truly knows how to lead his family through serving. I LOVE YOU DAVE.

well. enough words for now. i need to go find a snack. :)
suuuuuuuuuuu

news story that caught my eye

"It (Russia) has also resumed long-range patrols by its bomber aircraft.

The practice was suspended after the collapse of the Soviet Union and was revived last August, as part of a more assertive foreign policy pursued by President Putin."

-BBC News

interesting, don't you think?

Pancakes and Valentines.

Run, run, run, run, run.

this is the bonus of having a 'racetrack' layout of your main floor. It is perfectly conducive to energetic little bodies awaiting guests. Do your kids do this?? Julia dances, runs in circles and shrieks at the thought of-and the site of guests. man, she loves people so much. and it doesn't matter if she has never seen you before - julia will want to tell you all about her life, show you her room, have you read her a story and then sit on the floor and wrestle.

Guests. yes we were awaiting the Raes to arrive. not all of them, but three of them plus a friend. delightful bunch they are! :)

that is how we celebrated pancake tuesday, or fat tuesday. a splendid dinner with friends. and of course, it was PANCAKES. :) Dave is the Pan-King and so we had fabulous, no, i'd say PERFECT dutch pancakes thanks to his expertise. :) topped with all sorts of fruity goodness. mmm.mmm.mmm.

Today we made valentines cards for julia's class mates. well. almost. This is the beginning of them. We took card stock, paint and a cookie cutter (heart shape of course) and some brushes. i started by putting a 'wash' on the papers and Julia decorated each one differently. brush strokes, shapes, etc. it was quite fun! :) when they are dry i'll cut them into fours, and voila! we will have all 16 cards needed for her class next week! :)

that was our art for this snowed in day.

Brother and Sister

Here the happy pair await the arrival of daddy... yep there is his van outside the window! yippeeee that means we get to cuddle with him soon!!! :)
Here is our little scooter. this is an action shot of how he gets around the house. ha. it is pretty funny and cute. scoot scoot scoot.

So today we are off to oma and opa's house for a lunch party to celebrate dad's (late) birthday. it is also my mama's bday today!! :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!

well, i have to admit, i am not on here much any more.... i live on facebook. it is my way of keeping in touch. :) i am still keeping this blog and posting my photos here. but i don't write a lot anymore. one day perhaps the bug will come back....

until then. enjoy the photos
su