Sweaty September

Our summer finally came....in September. And when I say 'summer', I mean hot, humid weather with temperatures in the mid to high 30s. Love it!!!

We ended August and started September doing what we do best. Camping :) This time we went with friends as well. Where we camped was just 20 minutes from our home, yet once there, it felt like miles away. It was a very cool weekend, with only an hour or two of "warm enough weather for the beach" weather.

 

 

 

There are mountain biking trails nearby and so a bunch of guys went and enjoyed themselves.

 

 

 

 

We came home in time to start school the next morning....a very eager Gr. 3er and a very nervous Gr. 1er. They've nicely settled into their respective grades now, and Keziah has learned that having me as her teacher is not so bad after all. "It's going better than I ever thought it would!!" her words :)

Part of Keziah's birthday present was to take her to a Blue Jays' game. She loved it!! Lincoln? Not so much - it was too loud for him. It was a very exciting game and we saw it all! The Blue Jays won 10-9. We took the train in...and of course had to enjoy a sausage from a vendor as part of the experience.

 

 

 

 

 

My favourite Blue Jay player....

 

Nathan took Lincoln to the Farm Show. He made the mistake of telling Lincoln back in August. I believe Lincoln asked his dad every single day if it was The Day to go. They had a GREAT time together!

 

 

 

 

Nathan and I headed to Texas for 5 days, 3 of those days spending with his peer group. We had a fantastic time, experiencing things we would NEVER experience in Canada due to the fact that what's allowed in Texas is NOT allowed in Canada.

Texas-big clubhouse! Those are sweet potato fries - they were HUGE!!

 We stayed at a very nice resort that had a few pools and waterslides. While it was very hot back home, it was way hotter here!

 

Is it bad to say that this was the highlight of the trip?! While it was so much fun, it certainly spurned a discussion of why these guns are even needed in Texas - why is it legal to have them? Are they really that necessary?? I don't think we would have had as much fun, if any, if what happened in Vegas had happened already.....

 

 

By the way, my aim was worse than a boy and a toilet. Well, with that pink and black one just above I was able to hit every single target, but not with any other weapon.

That was our September. By the end of the month, we were all getting into the groove of school. Lincoln is absolutely loving  it and is soaking up everything very quickly. It is so good for him. Keziah is also loving it, "soaking" it all up in her very methodical way. And I am thankful with the priviledge of being at the front of the classroom again, seeing my students grow in so many different ways. I love my job! Nathan has been very busy with the business and is looking forward to a time when things will slow down a bit. It has been a tough year with all the rain we've received - but it's been a year of reminders of Who is in control of everything. We are thankful for that comfort.

We also got family pictures taken in September (first time in almost 5 years!!), but that'll be the next post. Take care and thanks for reading!!

Happy New Year!!!

Where have you been?! I've missed you!! :)

Not only has December come and gone, so has the year 2016. I can't believe I haven't written on here since the end of November. I do miss writing and sharing. Not only has my writing slowed down a bit now that I am teaching part-time, so has my picture-taking! Previously I was taking on average 250 pictures a month (I know, I know.....). Now? I am lucky if I hit 100!

However, for the last month of December, I managed to take over 300 pictures. Why? Well, this may have something to do with it: we surprised the kids by taking them to Punta Cana, Dominican of the Republic over Christmas.

We didn't tell them until they were done school, with just a few days left before we went. They were pretty excited! The night before, we got "ready" by spending a good hour doing this:

 

Early the next morning, we were up and at the airport, eager for some warmth! We got it near the end of the day, when we arrived at our resort: Grand Bahia Principe Fantasia.

Of course, Lincoln was in his glory, what with all the food he could eat whenever he wanted! Ice cream was a staple at least twice a day!

 

The resort had a small water park, much to the delight of this girl, who spent a lot of time there.

Lincoln on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the water slides.

Jumping the waves on our first day...

Life is great, huh?!

 

 

The dessert cart for kids at the buffet :)

Lots of games of Spot It and Uno played poolside:

 

My handsome men on Christmas Eve:

My beautiful daughter:

 

Don't let the above picture fool you - he wasn't always that chipper at suppertime. Typically he looked like this at dinner time. There's even dessert in front of him in the second picture!!

 

Although we spent most of the time at the pool, we would hit the beach for an hour or so to play in the waves and enjoy the soft sand.

I just love this picture of Keziah running to Nathan.

Nathan is teaching Keziah how to ride the surf....

 Waiting for a good wave.....

This one will do!!

Gotta love the goggles :)

 

Fun in the pool! It was getting to the point I was wondering if I should also put sun screen on the bottom of this girl's feet as they seemed to be more in the sun than her face!

Santa came to visit at our resort - not that our kids would go anywhere near him. But it was fun to see how he arrived when there wasn't any snow. Via helicopter!!

 

 

 

Another picture I absolutely love:

Lincoln LOVED the long and skinny breadsticks :)

 

Keziah waited in line every single day for a new balloon animal. She adored each one:

These two had such a great time together.

 

 

This diva girl worked up enough nerve to have a small live monkey placed on her head!! I wasn't allowed to take pictures as they want you to buy the ones they take, but this happened on our last day so we couldn't buy one as the pictures weren't ready yet. Oh well. She knows she did it and that's what counts!!

Lincoln found sand in the planters by the pool - a great spot to play with his cars and trucks!

 

We sure didn't read our average of 9 books when we go away for a week - not with the kids with us! But at least we got to read 2 each....

But alas, it was time to go home. Despite a 3 hour delay due to this....

....we were thankful we actually even made it to the airport as our bus broke down 4 kms from it! We got home much later that night than anticipated but the kids travelled so well. Having non-stop TV may have had something to do with it... :)

We actually came home so late, we could say Happy Birthday to the youngest member of our family! But it didn't really register with him as he was so tired.

Overall we had such a great time as a family. While the service was absolutely terrible at this resort, everything else was great! We kept telling ourselves we'd prefer awful service than awful food. It was hard though at times as we knew what we paid for the trip, which includes paying for the service.

We loved taking the kids but the next time it'll be just the two of us again! We missed our time together. However, if these are the kids that come with us, we are thankful it's them - they were fantastic and a pleasure to take.

I know it's a little bit late but from our family to yours: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! :)