Girls

Even though I am officially on holidays, I can't help but share some of the moments of our day that I managed to catch on film.

This past week, just after I had finished taking down the laundry off the line, Amelia and Indirah decided to make use of the laundry clips.
Their play had started out as Indirah being the doctor and Amelia the "sick" patient. But luckily for us, filling Amelia hair with the clips made her illness go away.

The funniest part was watching Amelia try to "shake" them out of her hair instead of using her hands. She reminded me of a wet dog trying to dry off!

A blueberry kinda day

I think going berry picking has got to be every ones favorite thing to do in the summer!
Amelia probably should have been weighed before we started picking if they wanted to make any profit today.

Indirah was so funny, she would inspect each berry and say "look at this one Donna"

Nathan on the other hand really didn't put many in his basket.... he was a close runner up to Amelia for trying to eat the whole field.

Even though Layla didn't even eat one, she still had fun filling her basket.

Phoenix was a speed picker.... every few minutes he would ask "I think we should move to the next bush now"

Evelyn was in heaven. After picking every berry off one branch (even the green and purple ones) she moved back to the stroller where she sat like a queen and had Layla bringing her more berries, rice cakes and continually picking up her water for her.

Chantal stayed picking berries with me while the other children stopped to eat snack. The funny part about that is she doesn't even like blueberries!

A day at the beach

This week was the first time this summer that it was nice enough to go to the beach.It's been a super hot week, but With Nathan not being allowed to get his new stitches wet, playing in the water is a bit tricky! We went to out favorite spot at Barnet beach where we had the entire cove to ourselves.

Nathan and Amelia had a great time rescuing starfish that were stuck up on the beach. After the first few tentative pokes and prods, they both got into picking the starfish up and throwing them back into the ocean.
Drew on the other hand was only interested in the water!

Layla and Jamie both had no interest in touching the animals, They were more interested in making sandcastles and searching for treasures.

Evelyn and Noemi came to join us at the beach with a friend of theirs. One of my favorite moments of the day was when Layla and Evelyn were sitting close together and Evelyn just started crying, Layla looked up at me and said "It wasn't me... I didn't do anything this time". I had to laugh to myself about the "this time" part of her comment. Ya gotta love 4 year olds!

Summer is finally here!

It seems to have taken forever, but the summer sun has finally arrived! We got to use the pool for the first time this season, and the kids had a blast!

Evelyn wasn't into getting wet, but she enjoyed watching the kids jump

Drew on the other hand was wetter than wet!

I am looking forward to many more hot sunny days ahead!

A whirlwind of a month

Wow.... I can't believe how fast the month of June fly's by! So much is happening it's hard to keep up some days. Let's take a look....

We said happy birthday to our friend Noah who turned 7, and we also said goodbye to him as he starts on his new adventure with friends at the daycare at school. We are all going to miss you Noah!And yes Noah, no more smelly diapers for you my friend!

Next, we welcomed our new friend Evelyn, or as the little kids call her.. Ebelyn! Other than getting use to saying goodbye to dad in the morning, she is fitting in quite well. Although, if we don't curb her appetite for eating sand soon, we may run out of sand in the sandbox!

No longer a toddler, Amelia celebrated turning 3 this month!

Layla joined the ranks of the big 4 year olds this month! I think her favorite part of being 4 is no longer taking a nap!

I am not sure who was more excited about Indirah turning three this month, Indirah herself or Nathan..... you be the judge!

The month of June meant the end of the school year. Yeah to not making lunches for two whole months! But it also welcomes Chloe's Grade 8 leaving ceremony from middle school. I can't believe that I will be the mother of two high school kids!

Lastly, it is great sadness that we say goodbye to our good friend Max, who is going to try walking to school by himself. It has been such a privilege to be a part of watching you become the great kid that you are! He has been such a major part of this daycare for more than 8 years. I know that I am really going to miss him!

Wow... what a busy month! Now that we are entering the busy summer months could someone please do something about bringing on the warm summer weather!!!

Sing a Song

Sing.... sing a song..... make it simple,

make it long,
Don't worry if it's not good enough, for any one else to hear.
Just sing.... sing a song.
la la la lala...la la la la la
I love it when kids get an idea in there head and then they just go for it!
Amelia and Indirah worked well together to drag the bench out of the boat to make a stage. They lined up the chairs down below for people to sit on and enjoy the singing performance.
They then took turns to belt out their own version of O Canada.
How well children live up to that saying of
"sing like no ones listening
dance as if no ones watching
and live like its heaven on earth"

Friendship

Today while walking back from the school, everyone was taking their time and sauntering up the hill. Amelia who was walking beside Max looked up at him and asked "will you hold my hand?" Max looked down and replied "sure"with a shrug of his shoulders. They walked in silence for a short time before Amelia looks up again to inform Max "you are a good friend". Max in the same way looks back down to Amelia and answers"thanks". As adults, we should learn from this, that friendship can really be that easy.