At the end of DC's 11th B-day Bash...

Bennett (6 yrs 10 mos), BP2 (26 mos), DC (11 yrs), BP1 (5 yrs 3 mos)

Blind Sighted

When I picked Bennett up from daycare today, one of the teachers pulled me aside; Bennett's beloved teacher had a stroke yesterday. They could not save her.

Anne was not just any teacher; she was exceptional; a true angel on earth. She was my son's afternoon preschool teacher from 2006-2007, his full day teacher from 2007-2008 and again, his after school/afternoon teacher for 2008- last Thursday. She has had such an impact on my child, words do not come close.

My heart is hurting.

Anne has also taught Shayanna, as well as a dear friends daughter (Sunshine M.) and years ago she taught Shayanna and Luke's other older brother (DC) as well. Her reputation reached the far corners of our town; by far one of the most talented and intuitive minds in the childcare industry. Her absence will be felt by many.

This will be the first time I have to explain death to my child. With all the other things that have touched his young life, death has not been one of them, until today.

Beach Snappage (Canada Day Long Weekend)

Hello Mud! Hello Lake!
The hat did not last very long...

First order of business...burying her own feet!

One Planted Child

Surprise.

Story Telling Pumpkin...

No need to worry about her drowning in the sand with that life jacket on...

Gleefully laughing after throwing mud at his sister...
(don't worry, she too, dishes it out quite well)

My Boy. My Heart.

He kept putting his face in the surf and "tasting the lake"...the more I told him not to drink the lake, the more he tried to do so and the funnier he thought it was! He has a similar routine in the bathtub...

Clad in dirt goatee from lake tasting: one small boy with big blue shovel...
(that is a pirate tattoo band-aid on his forehead...not a slug...it is covering up a scrape from the day before: being new to the world of WALKING, he is still working on a little thing called BALANCE)

Pumpkin.

Princess. (don't tell her I said that)

Three in a row: BP2, Bennett, BP1

Buckets ready...

Attack!

Water Fight!

On his never ending quest to find Ogopogo...

Bennett wore this life jacket from the age of 24 mos to 4 yrs...she just now fits it at 4.5!

Someone shrunk his blue shovel...

Brothers: tall and small

Cave baby finds himself a stick!

They were elated when I told them they could destroy the sand castle that had been so carefully constructed by the beach goers who had just left! Like Christmas in June!

Baby. In lake. With stick.

Lake tasting without dirtying the belly!

Lake tasting from red bucket that is bigger than his head...

All that lake tasting makes for a hungry baby!

Mmmm...Watermelon!

He found himself a bigger stick!

BP1 & Heza:

Slowly getting to know BP1 & BP2's other older brother: DC kept to himself most of the afternoon...ten-year-olds are not as easily entertained as are younger, mud slinging siblings. Here he is poking his head up from under water and waving hello...he was doing laps the length of the swim area...quite the fish, he is.

He and Luke have the same smile...it is their most obvious shared trait...

Sun Tanning, post Swimming...

Electric Smile...

End of the day: DC teaches Bennett how to play on the X-box. Check out the seat of the kiddie chair he is sitting in...he busted out the bottom of it!

One Measure of Insanity

This post brought to you by an AWESOME birthday present from an AWESOME friend: a camera that WORKS!!! And the fact that my Saturdays as of late are turned over to short people; and I'm not just talking mere Niece Borrowing here!

So, I, being one of four adults, took TEN children on an outing. Well, make that 10.5, being as the sister is quite assuredly knocked up atm.

And to think that four months ago I was maxed out by five kids for two hours...

DC (10 yrs), BP1 (4 yrs), Shae (7 yrs), The Niece! (2 yrs), L. (3 yrs), Sunshine M. (3 yrs), Bennett (6 yrs)

Plus three in strollers: BP2 (16 mos), Miss K. (9 mos), B. (9 mos)

5/7 walkers...

What lies beyond the light at the end of the tunnel?

Children on the wrong side of the exhibit!

You would think that this stroller bound thing would start sucking at some point?

Totally oblivious that he is being one upped by a chick seven months his junior...
Miss K, dressed for a job interview for Santa's shortest helper...

She'll make a fantastic sky diver someday...


Dude who fake cries whenever you put a camera in his vicinity. Drives his photographer Auntie nuts.

BP1 with 2/3 brothers...

Not one to hang out with chicks his own age...

Playground Yoga.

Emergency meeting amongst the playground's higher officials...

Forget the light...there is a baby at the end of this tunnel!

The next three photos brought to you by cuteness and nothing else.



He can stand.

He just doesn't want to.

Up again.

Making another break for it...

Put back to work...

Bah. Do you see where this is going? Do you now understand why the resident toddler is referred to as the "non-walking toddler?"

Stubborn. Baby.

Jamie's Boys.

All of the testosterone in our group, less the Pumpkin...

That's as far up s the baby made it...


7 of 10 children in the next photo...can you spot them all?

I took this picture because he matched the bench so well.

Inchworm.

He is very fast at his preferred method of travel...

Poser.

Anyone want to wager whether or not...

...this bottle is spiked with rum?

We so, totally need one of these babies in our back yard! Capable of entertaining multiple children for multiple hours...and dude, it's just a tube!

Bennett attempting to stop traffic...or at least slow it down. Very. Bennett.

Peacock Stalking. Have you tried it?

You totally should!



That was our one day of gorgeous weather in recent memory. The next day it returned to cold and gross, which it remains, to this day.